Howlin' Wolf: The Howlin' Wolf Album (Vinyl LP)

In 1968, Marshall Chess, the innovative son of label owner Leonard Chess, paired Howlin' Wolf with the Chicago psychedelic soul group Rotary Connection to record as his backing band. The results were controversial to say the least, with Wolf falling out with his fellow musicians.

Wolf, the blues legend born Chester Arthur Burnett, does his best to sing the Delta blues over a backdrop of wah-wah and fuzz effects. Singer and band certainly sync on a new version of “Smokestack Lightning,” a song Wolf used to sing as a boy watching the trains go by in the Mississippi town where he was born, on June 10, 1910.

Another success is Wolf’s own composition “Evil,” in which the bluesman sounds like a ghost of Tom Waits’ future, growling and rasping his way through some potent lyrics.

Wolf’s unease about the project prompted a bold marketing gamble by Marshall Chess, who addressed the issue on the album’s sleeve. The design, with black text on a white background, stated: “This is Howlin’ Wolf’s new album. He doesn’t like it. He didn’t like his electric guitar at first either.”

The Howlin’ Wolf Album gained a cult following, however, and reached No. 49 on the Billboard charts. More than half a century later, it definitely has more to it than just novelty value.

1. Spoonful
2. Tail Dragger
3. Smokestack Lightning
4. Moanin' At Midnight
5. Built For Comfort
6. The Red Rooster
7. Evil
8. Down In The Bottom
9. Three Hundred Pounds Of Joy
10. Back Door Man